A Cass County man faces a felony charge for Possessing Contraband in a Correctional Facility. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports 31-year old Travis Austin Moon, of Wiota, an inmate at the Audubon County Jail, faces the charge for “Knowingly introducing and possessing contraband,” while in the correctional facility.  Once he completes his current 30-day sentence for Revocation of Probation, Moon will be held on a $5,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Department reports also 27-year old Benjamin Daniel Jobe, of Audubon, turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), on an outstanding warrant out of Audubon County, charging him with Failure to Appear on a Possession of Controlled Substance, and for Revocation of his Probation. Jobe appeared before the magistrate, and was being held in the Audubon County Jail without bond.

Two people were arrested over the weekend in Cass County, on OWI charges. The Sheriff’s department says on Saturday,  Police in Anita arrested 42-year old Jon Steven Fox,  of Casey, on a charge of OWI 1^st Offense. Fox was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released on his own recognizance later that day. And, on Sunday, deputies arrested 46-year old Michael John Ballinger, of Atlantic, on a charge of OWI 1^st Offense. His arrest stems from a single-vehicle accident that took place on Highway 71 at Lansing Road. Ballinger was not injured in the accident, but the 2009 Ford Escape he was driving sustained $15,000 damage. Ballinger was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance.

Persons who are at least 12 years of age and interested in hunting, are encouraged to sign-up for an online Hunter Safety Education Field Day, set to take place on September 8th, from 8-a.m. until Noon. The Field Day will take place at the Nishna Bend Recreation Area, about 1.5-miles southeast of the Harlan Municipal Airport.

Anyone who was born after January 1st, 1972 must complete a hunter safety education course, in order to obtain an Iowa Hunting license. Go to www.iowadnr.gov to sign-up. You must complete the online class before coming to the Field Day, and you”ll need to bring your online completion voucher with you, in order to be admitted to the Field Day event.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports today (Monday), that a Hamburg man was arrested last week on a aggravated serious misdemeanor charge of Child Endangerment, felony charges of Kidnapping in the 3^rd degree, and domestic abuse assault. 41-year old Lenny Lee James was taken into custody August 7^th. James made his initial appearance in court on Thursday, and was ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Cass County K-9 unit was one of several agencies from southwest and southern Iowa, who were called to assist in the search for several suspects, following a reported home invasion Friday night, in the south central Iowa community of Leon. The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports the Leon Police Department, Decatur County Sheriff’s Department, and Iowa State Patrol were dispatched to 706 NE 2nd Street in Leon at around 10:30-p.m. Friday, following a report of multiple armed intruders inside the home. Upon arrival law enforcement witnessed multiple people flee the residence, which was occupied by a 26-year old woman, and her children, ages 10, 4 and 3.

Police say the men, who were armed with a bow and arrow, a long gun and other weapons, demanded drugs, money and guns. The woman and children suffered minor injuries. The men kept the woman and children separated, but she managed to call her husband on a hidden cellphone.

Captured suspect William Crawford Beveridge

A neighbor who checked the house saw a masked man inside and called police. Officers arrested 24-year-old William Edward Crawford-Beveridge, of Urbandale when they arrived, but the others ran and were not caught.

The Leon Police Department is actively seeking as many as three other people involved in the home invasion. Anyone with information on the identity of others involved in the incident is asked to contact the Leon Police Department, or the Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6010. Authorities said the investigation involved Leon police, the DCI, the Iowa State Patrol, sheriff’s departments in Decatur, Adams, Cass, Clarke, Ringgold and Wayne counties, and police from Lamoni, Osceola, Urbandale and West Des Moines.

An expert on back pain says Iowa kids need to avoid stuffing their backpacks when they return to school. Dr. Aaron Rector, a chiropractor in Johnston, says don’t put more than ten-percent of your body weight in the backpack. So, a 100-pound kid shouldn’t be carrying more than ten pounds. Dr. Rector says choose backpacks carefully.  “Bigger is not always better,” Rector says. “If you have a first grader, they don’t need a backpack the size that will fit high school-sized textbooks. You want to get a size- and age-appropriate backpack for your child.” Some Iowa schools are now providing laptops or computer tablets for students — or they’re being required for some courses. That can make it even harder to stick with that ten-percent of your body weight rule.

“The average laptop weighs about seven pounds,” Rector says. “You could have a laptop in the backpack and then throw textbooks and things in there, that complicates things, adding more weight to the child’s backpack.” Parents need to watch for warning signs their children may be carrying too much weight in their backpacks, things like red marks on their shoulders from the weight. Also, if they get any numbing or tingling or if their hands or fingers fall asleep, that’s a red flag.

“You will start to see the child slouch forward in an effort to take pressure off of their back and off of their spine,” Rector says. “You will see their shoulders start to round forward and they’ll start to lean their head forward as if they’re going to bring their face towards the ground.” A federal study found backpack-related injuries among children and teens have risen 41-percent in the past five years. The study says more than 14-thousand people between the ages of 5 and 19 were treated for backpack injuries nationwide last year. The total cost for those injuries was nearly 29-million dollars.

Firefighters in Atlantic kept busy over the weekend putting out fires on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Crews were called to 1006 Maple Street just before 12:30-p.m. Sunday.Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News the home owner left for a brief time and returned to find smoke inside, and flames coming from the rear of the house. The structure sustained damage from flames in a bedroom, and substantial smoke damage elsewhere. McNees said it appeared an overheated pump for a fish aquarium was to blame. He said the man and his daughter were not injured, but some pets didn’t make it out alive. Firefighters saved three cats, but some birds were lost to the fire. McNees said the house probably would have been lost, had the home owner not come back when he did. He says a few minutes later, the flames would have spread even further, and they “Would’ve had a real problem.”

And, an electrical problem was apparently the blame for a vehicle fire south of Atlantic Saturday afternoon. Crews responded to a report of a fully engulfed vehicle fire on Highway Six, about a mile south of 29^th Street, at 4:45-p.m. When they arrived, firefighters observed an SUV on fire, and heavy black smoke drifting across the road, which caused traffic to come to a complete stop. A woman and her daughter escaped the vehicle without injury. Deputies with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control at the scene.

President Barack Obama travels to Council Bluffs today for a grassroots campaign event at Bayliss Park. The stop kicks-off his three-day bus tour of Iowa. It will be the Democrat’s fifth trip to Iowa this year. His other stop today includes a visit to Boone. The rally in Council Bluffs is expected to begin at around 11:25-a.m.  Tickets are required in order for you to attend. The gates to the park will open at 9:15 a.m.

Meanwhile, the new Republican vice presidential contender, Paul Ryan, will meet with voters at the Iowa State Fair, in Des Moines.  He’s scheduled to speak at the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox at 1:00-p.m. Since Mitt Romney named Ryan as his running mate on Saturday, the Obama campaign has been attacking Ryan’s plans to transform Medicare into a voucher system and to re-shape the nation’s tax system.